EU calls on Houthis’ to revoke death sentences against journalists

The European Union yesterday called for death sentences issued against Yemeni journalists and activists to be revoked.

“On the occasion of the World Day Against Death Penalty, the EU calls for revoking all death sentences, incl those of journalists and activists in Yemen,” the commission’s delegation in Yemen said on Twitter, adding that the EU “strongly opposes death penalty at all times and in all circumstances. It continues to work for the universal abolishment of death penalty.”

On #WorldDayAgainstDeathPenalty, #EUinYemen calls for revoking all death sentences, incl those of journalists and activists in #Yemen. The EU strongly opposes death penalty at all times and in all circumstances. It continues to work for the universal abolishment of death penalty. pic.twitter.com/8MFfl1zUdu

— EUinYemen (@EUinYemen) October 10, 2021

Impoverished Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when the Houthis overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

The war, in which the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) back the Saudi-led coalition, has killed more than 100,000 people and pushed millions to the brink of famine, according to the United Nations (UN) official data.

On 18 September, the Iranian-backed militia executed nine residents of the Yemeni province of Hudaydah, in one of the most prominent squares in the capital city of Sanaa for allegedly “participating in the killing of one of their leaders, Saleh Al-Sammad.”  The move was condemned by local and international governments.

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